fabfilter Pro-C 2 Compressor Plug In Installation Guide

: June 16, 2024
: fabfilter

Pro-C 2 Compressor Plug In

Specifications

Vocal – Very effective algorithm to bring vocals to the front
of your mix.
Mastering – Designed to be as transparent as possible,
introducing as little harmonic distortion as possible, while still
being able to catch those fast transients.
Bus – Especially great for bus processing, or for adding a
pleasant glue to your drums, mixes or tracks.
Punch – Traditional, analog-like compression behavior, sounds
good on anything!
Pumping – Deep and over-the-top pumping, great for drum
processing or EDM.

Product Usage Instructions

Lookahead and Zero Latency Processing

The FabFilter Pro-C 2 features Lookahead, which can be
enabled/disabled to ensure zero latency processing. This allows you
to apply compression without any delay.

Hold

The Hold function allows you to set a hold time of up to 500 ms.
This determines how long the compressor holds the gain reduction
after the input signal falls below the threshold.

Knee and Saturation-like Compression Effects

The FabFilter Pro-C 2 offers a custom Knee setting, which can be
adjusted from hard knee to a 72 dB soft knee. This enables you to
achieve saturation-like compression effects by introducing a smooth
transition between uncompressed and compressed signals.

Range Setting

The Range setting limits the maximum applied gain change. This
allows you to control the amount of compression applied to the
signal.

Mix Control

The Mix control scales the gain change from 0% to 200%. This
allows you to blend the compressed signal with the original signal
to achieve the desired balance.

Oversampling

The FabFilter Pro-C 2 offers up to 4x oversampling, which
improves the accuracy of the compression algorithm and reduces
aliasing artifacts.

Side-Chain Stereo Handling

The side-chain stereo handling has been simplified and improved.
The Pro-C 2 introduces variable stereo linking with options for
mid-only, side-only, M>S, and S>M processing. This allows you
to control the compression behavior across the stereo field.

Side-Chain EQ Section

The Pro-C 2 features a side-chain EQ section. It includes
customizable high-pass (HP) and low-pass (LP) filters, as well as
an additional freely adjustable side-chain filter. The side-chain
filter options include Bell, Low Shelf, High Shelf, Band Pass,
Notch, or Tilt filters.

User Interface and Display

The user interface of the FabFilter Pro-C 2 has been fully
redesigned. It includes optional knee and level displays with a
variable range from 9 dB to 90 dB. The Pro-C 2 also offers a Full
Screen mode with a large level display and side-chain EQ
controller.

Extended Threshold Range

The threshold range of the Pro-C 2 has been extended to -60 dB,
allowing for precise control over the compression threshold.

Audition Triggering

The Pro-C 2 introduces an Audition Triggering option. This
feature allows you to hear which parts of the audio are triggering
the compressor and how much compression is taking place.

Interface Sizes and MIDI Triggering

The Pro-C 2 offers multiple interface sizes: Small, Medium, and
Large, allowing you to choose the size that best suits your
workflow. Additionally, MIDI triggering is supported, which means
the compressor can be triggered when you hit any key on a connected
MIDI keyboard controller.

Level Meters and Loudness Level Visualization

The level meters of the Pro-C 2 have been highly improved. They
feature peak and loudness level visualization. The loudness level
complies with the Momentary mode of the EBU R128 / ITU-R 1770
standards, providing accurate loudness monitoring.

Retina and High DPI Support

The FabFilter Pro-C 2 offers Retina support on macOS and High
DPI support on Windows, ensuring a crisp and clear user interface
on high-resolution displays.

FAQ

Q: Can the FabFilter Pro-C 2 be used for vocal processing?

A: Yes, the Pro-C 2 includes a Vocal algorithm specifically
designed to bring vocals to the front of your mix. It features
automatic knee and ratio settings, making it easy to compress your
lead vocal by choosing the right threshold.

Q: Is the Pro-C 2 suitable for mastering purposes?

A: Absolutely. The Pro-C 2 is designed to be as transparent as
possible, introducing minimal harmonic distortion while still
capturing fast transients. It is an excellent choice for mastering
engineers who require precise control over the dynamics of their
mix.

Q: Can the Pro-C 2 be used on bus processing?

A: Yes, the Pro-C 2 is especially great for bus processing. It
can also be used to add a pleasant glue to your drums, mixes, or
tracks.

Q: What is the Punch mode of the Pro-C 2?

A: The Punch mode of the Pro-C 2 provides traditional,
analog-like compression behavior that sounds good on any audio
source.

Q: Is the Pro-C 2 suitable for pumping effects?

A: Yes, the Pro-C 2 offers a deep and over-the-top pumping mode,
making it great for drum processing or EDM.

Table of contents

Table of Contents
Introduction . .A.b.o.ut. .Fa.b.F.il.te.r.P.ro. -.C. 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 . .Q.u.ic.k. s.t.ar.t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Using FabFilter Pro-C 2 . .O.v.e.rv.ie. w. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 . .K.n.o.bs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 . .D.y.n.a.m.ic.s. c.o.n.tr.o.ls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 . .T.im. .e .c.on. t.ro. l.s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.1 . .S.id.e. c. h.a.in. .se. c.ti.o.n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.3 . .D.is.p.la. y.s. a.n.d. m. .e.te.ri.n.g. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.5 . .O.v.e.rs.a.m. p.li.n.g. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.7 . .F.u.ll .s.cr.e.e.n.m. o. d.e.,.re. s.iz.i.ng. .a.nd. .s.ca.l.in.g. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.8 . .In. p. u.t. a.n.d. o.u.t.pu. t. o. p.t.io.n.s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.0 . .M.I.D.I .le.a.rn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.1 . .U.n.d.o., .re.d.o., .A./B. .sw. .it.ch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.3
Presets . .L.o.ad. i.n.g.p.re. s.e.ts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.4 . .S.a.v.in.g. p.r.es. e.t.s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.5 . .H.o.w. p. r.e.se. t.s.a.r.e .s.to.r.ed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.6
Purchasing FabFilter Pro-C 2 . .P.u.rc.h.a.si.n.g.F.a.b.Fi.lt.e.r .Pr.o.-.C.2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.7 . .E.n.te.r.in.g. y.o.u.r.li.ce. n.s.e. k.e.y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.8
Support . .S.u.p.po. r.t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.9 . .U.p.g.ra.d.in. g. .to. P. r.o.-C. .2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.0 . .M.a.n.u.a.l i.n.st.a.ll.at.io. n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.1 . .V.S.T. p.lu. g. -.in. .ve. r.s.io.n.s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.2 . .E.x.te.r.na. l. s.id. e. c. h.a.in. i.ng. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.3 . .L.ic.e.n.se. .ag. r.e.e.m.e.n.t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.6 . .A.c.kn. o.w. l.e.dg. e.m. e. n. t.s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.8 . .A.b.o.ut. .Fa.b.F.il.te.r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.9

About FabFilter Pro-C 2
There is one signal-processing tool that is almost impossible to do without in any form of audio recording or postproduction: compression. Compression is available in a wide variety of different formats, flavors, designs and degrees of quirkiness. FabFilter Pro-C 2 is not just a good sounding compressor. FabFilter Pro-C 2 is a superb stereo compressor with all the tricks up its sleeve that you will ever need. With its different compression styles and options like mid/side compression and side-chaining with optional EQ filtering, it can work in any desired way. Whether mastering or mixing, Pro-C 2 will do the job with lots of style.
New in version 2 When you open Pro-C 2 for the first time, you’ll notice right away that it has a brand new look. With its gorgeous, resizable interface, optional level display, knee display and side-chain EQ controller, it can either take the form of a classic, straightforward analog compressor, or present itself as a modern allround compressor with extensive metering and controls. It’s up to you! Of course, apart from the new look and feel, we’ve also added many often-requested new features. Most importantly, FabFilter Pro-C 2 introduces five brand new compression styles, in addition to the three original v1 styles. With their unique characteristics, it’s like getting five brand new compressors!
Vocal – Very effective algorithm to bring vocals to the front of your mix. It works with automatic knee and ratio settings, so compressing your lead vocal is as easy as choosing the right threshold. Mastering – Designed to be as transparent as possible, introducing as little harmonic distortion as possible, while still
3

being able to catch those fast transients.
Bus – Especially great for bus processing, or for adding a pleasant glue to your drums, mixes or tracks.
Punch – Traditional, analog-like compression behavior, sounds good on anything!
Pumping – Deep and over-the-top pumping, great for drum processing or EDM.
But of course, it doesn’t stop there. We’ve implemented a ton of other improvements:
Introducing Lookahead (up to 20 ms), which can be enabled/disabled as well to ensure zero latency processing.
Introducing Hold (up to 500 ms).
Introducing custom Knee, variable from hard knee to a 72 dB soft knee, which enables you to achieve saturation-like compression effects.
Introducing Range setting, which limits the maximum applied gain change.
Introducing Mix, which scales the gain change from 0% to 200%.
Introducing up to 4x Oversampling.
Simplified and improved side-chain stereo handling, introducing variable stereo linking with mid-only, side-only, M>S and S>M processing.
Introducing side-chain EQ section, with customizable HP and LP filters, plus an additional freely adjustable side-chain filter (Bell, Low Shelf, High Shelf, Band Pass, Notch or Tilt).
Fully redesigned user interface, including optional knee and level displays with a variable range from 9 dB to 90 dB.
Introducing Full Screen mode, offering a large level display and side-chain EQ controller.
Extended Threshold range to -60 dB.
Introducing Audition Triggering option, to be able to hear on which parts of the audio Pro-C 2 is triggering and how much compression is taking place.
Introducing multiple interface sizes: Small, Medium and Large.
Introducing MIDI triggering. If MIDI is enabled, the compressor is triggered when you hit any key on a connected MIDI keyboard controller.
Highly improved level meters, with peak and loudness level visualization. The loudness level complies with the Momentary mode of the EBU R128 / ITU-R 1770 standards.
Introducing Retina support on macOS and High DPI support on Windows.
Upgrading to Pro-C 2 Upgrading from Pro-C version 1 to the new Pro-C 2 is safe and easy: installing Pro-C 2 will not replace or delete the previous Pro-C 1 plug-in. Both versions will co-exist and can both be used at the same time. This ensures that you can open old songs that use Pro-C 1 without problems! FabFilter Pro-C 2 opens presets from Pro-C 1 without problems, but note that the resulting sound can be different, because of fundamental changes and improvements in Pro-C 2. See Upgrading to Pro-C 2 for more information.
FabFilter Pro-C 2 is available in VST, VST3, CLAP, AU (Audio Units), AAX Native and AudioSuite formats.

Windows requirements Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 or Vista 64-bit or 32-bit VST 2/3 or CLAP host, or Pro Tools

macOS requirements macOS 10.13 or higher (64-bit only) VST 2/3, AU or CLAP host, or Pro Tools Intel or Apple Silicon processor

Next: Quick start
See Also Using FabFilter Pro-C 2

4

Quick start
The installer will copy the FabFilter Pro-C 2 plug-in into the common VST, VST 3, CLAP, AU (macOS only) and Pro Tools plug-in folders on your computer. On macOS, the global plug-in folders in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins are used. In most cases, your host will then recognize the plugin automatically. However, if the instructions below do not work, see Manual installation instead.
Pro Tools Choose an empty insert slot on one of your audio tracks, instrument tracks or buses and select FabFilter Pro-C 2 from the pop-up menu in the Dynamics section. Studio One Click the ‘+’ button next to the Inserts tab of an audio track, instrument track or bus and select ‘FabFilter Pro-C 2’ from the drop-down menu. Logic Pro Choose an empty insert slot on one of your audio tracks, instrument tracks or buses and select FabFilter Pro-C 2 from the pop- up menu. You will find FabFilter Pro-C 2 in the Audio Units > FabFilter section (named Pro-C 2). Ableton Live In Session view, select the track you would like to place FabFilter Pro-C 2 on, for example by clicking the track name. At the left top of Ableton Live’s interface, click on the Plug-in Device Browser icon (third icon from the top). From the plug-ins list, double-click FabFilter/FabFilter Pro-C 2, or drag it onto the track. Cubase Choose an empty insert slot, for example in the Mixer, and select FabFilter Pro-C 2 from the menu that appears. To use the MIDI features in Pro-C 2, create a new MIDI track and set its output to the Pro-C 2 instance you have just created. (The VST 3 version of Pro-C 2 can be found in the Dynamics section.) To begin, choose fast attack and release times, put the ratio to a gentle setting (like 4:1) and bring down the threshold to make compression audible. Adjust the parameters until you have the desired effect. Have fun! Next: Using FabFilter Pro-C 2 See Also Manual installation VST plug-in versions
5

Overview
The interface of FabFilter Pro-C 2 is designed to be easy to use while providing all necessary information and controls. It consists of the following elements:
Level display The animated level display shows you the incoming and processed audio signals together with the gain reduction. It helps you detemine the correct compressor settings. You can hide the level display with the Display button. This will also hide the knee display and change the vertical level meters to horizontal ones, making Pro-C 2 look and feel more like a traditional compressor. See Displays and metering. Knee display The Knee display visualizes the input/output transform of the detection circuit, including the effect of the Threshold, Ratio, Knee and Range parameters. It conveniently uses the same scale as the level display underneath. Use the Knee button to show or hide the knee display. See Displays and metering. Dynamics and time controls Floating at the heart of the interface, there’s a panel with the main compressor controls. Threshold, Ratio, Knee and Range control the triggering and how much compression is applied. The Attack, Release, Lookahead and Hold affect the smoothing and curves of the gain reduction. See Dynamics controls and Time controls. Level metering At the right-hand side of the interface, the input-, gain reduction- and output level meters and their read- outs provide an immediate overview of the current levels. The input and output level meters show both peak and loudness levels. The loudness level complies with the Momentary mode of the EBU R128 / ITU-R 1770 standards. See Displays and metering. MIDI Learn MIDI Learn lets you easily associate any MIDI controller with any plug-in parameter. See MIDI Learn. Oversampling The Oversampling setting sets the amount of internal oversampling, which reduces possible aliasing for fast/aggressive dynamics processing, at the cost of additional CPU usage. See Oversampling. Input and output options At the right of the bottom bar, you can bypass the entire plug-in and adjust the initial input and final output levels. See Input and output options. Full Screen mode, resizing and scaling The Resize button at the far right of the bottom bar lets you change the interface size and scaling. In addition, click the Full Screen button in the top-right corner of the interface to let Pro-C 2 fill the entire screen. See Full Screen mode, resizing and scaling. Presets, undo, A/B, help With the preset buttons, you can easily browse through the factory presets or save your own settings so you can re-
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use them in other songs. The Undo, Redo, A/B and Copy buttons at the top of the plug-in interface enable you to undo your changes and switch between different states of the plug-in. Finally, the Help menu provides access to help and version information. See Loading presets and Undo, redo, A/B switch. Next: Knobs See Also Quick start Dynamics controls Time controls
7

Knobs
It is easy to control FabFilter Pro-C 2’s parameters with the large round knobs. They will light up when you move the mouse cursor around to indicate that you can adjust them. The moment you move the mouse cursor over a knob, a parameter value display will pop up, which shows the name and the current value of the parameter.
All knobs support four ways of control: 1. Vertical mode Click on the center area of a knob and drag up or down to rotate it. The knob reacts to the speed with which you are dragging, so if you move the mouse slowly, you make precise adjustments. 2. Rotate mode Grab the arrow of the knob and drag it around. By moving the mouse cursor further away from the knob while dragging it, you can make precise adjustments. 3. Mouse wheel mode Perhaps the easiest way to make adjustments is by using the mouse wheel when you hover over a knob. This mode works for all the knobs and possible panning rings. (On Windows, you might need to click in the plug-in interface first to make sure it is the active window.) 4. Text entry mode Double-click a knob to enter an exact value using the keyboard.
Tips To reset a knob to its default position, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Command key (macOS) and click the knob once. Note: In Pro Tools, Pro-C 2 uses the default Pro Tools keyboard shortcut for reset: Alt+click. To fine- tune a value when using vertical drag mode or the mouse wheel, hold down the Shift key while dragging or moving the mouse wheel. Note: In Pro Tools, Pro-C 2 uses the default Pro Tools keyboard shortcut for fine tune: Ctrl+drag on Windows or Command+drag on macOS. There are several handy shortcuts in text entry mode. With frequency values, you can type e.g. ‘1k’ to set the value to 1000 Hz, and also ‘A4’ for 440 Hz, or even strings like ‘C#3+13’. With dB values, you can type e.g. ‘2x’ to get +6 dB (the value that corresponds to two times louder). With all values, you can also type a percentage (e.g. ‘50%’ will put a knob exactly in the middle position). Sometimes, knobs in our plug- in interfaces are linked: these can be adjusted simultaneously by holding down the Alt key (Shift key in Pro Tools) while dragging on one of them. For example, an output level and input level setting of a plug-in could be adjusted simultaneously (in the opposite direction) this way.
Next: Dynamics controls See Also Using on iOS Using FabFilter Pro-C 2
8

Dynamics controls
The left part of the main compressor settings panel contains the large style button and the controls that affect the detection path of the compressor.
The Style button selects the style or compression. Pro-C 2 offers 8 different styles, all with their own characteristics: Clean – An allround, low distortion, feedforward, program dependent style (originally from Pro-C v1). Classic – A vintage, feedback, very program dependent style (originally from Pro-C v1). Opto – A relatively slow, very soft knee, more linear opto style (originally from Pro-C v1), Vocal – A very effective algorithm to bring vocals to the front of your mix. It works with automatic knee and ratio settings, so compressing your lead vocal is as easy as choosing the right threshold. Mastering – Designed to be as transparent as possible, introducing as little harmonic distortion as possible, while still being able to catch those fast transients. Bus – Especially great for bus processing, or for adding a pleasant glue to your drums, mixes or tracks. Punch – Traditional, analog-like compression behavior, sounds good on anything! Pumping – Deep and over-the-top pumping, great for drum processing or EDM.
The Threshold knob determines above which side chain level the gain should be reduced. The circular side-chain level meter around the Threshold knob shows the level of the filtered and possibly stereo-linked signal that is used for detection. This feedback makes it a lot easier to choose a proper Threshold setting. Using the Audition Triggering button, at the left top of the Threshold button, you can hear on which parts of the audio Pro-C 2 is triggering and how much compression is taking place. This helps you choose an appropriate Threshold level as well, making sure Pro-C 2 catches the necessary peaks. The Ratio knob sets the amount of compression. At a ratio of 10:1, just one dB of output signal above the threshold remains for every 10 dB of input signal above the threshold. You can click on the small dots around the Ratio knob to jump to certain fixed ratio amounts. If you move the knob completely to the left (1:1), no compression will take place. If you move it completely to the right (infinity), everything above the threshold will be completely compressed away, making Pro-C act as a limiter. The Knee slider set the ’roundness’ of the compression around the threshold, which can vary from 0 dB (hard knee) to 72 dB (soft knee). Using a soft knee can help to make the compression more gradual and transparent. With very soft knee settings (> 60 dB), in combination with a fast Attack setting, you can achieve almost saturation-like effects. The Range slider limits the maximum amount of applied gain change. Compare this to the Ratio slider which scales the dynamics behavior instead. Tips Instead of using the incoming audio to trigger the compressor, you can also trigger it via MIDI. If MIDI is enabled (see MIDI Learn), compression will be applied when you hit any key on a connected MIDI keyboard controller, using the Note On event. Next: Time controls See Also Side chain section Using FabFilter Pro-C 2
9

Time controls
The right part of the main compressor settings panel contains the controls that affect the smoothing and curve shape of the gain change signal, and the wet/dry mixing controls.
The Attack knob determines how fast compression will kick in, ranging from 0.005 ms (very fast) to 250 ms (very slow). For transient-rich program material like drums, fast attack times are needed to minimize overshoot. For other program material, too short attack times may dull the sound or introduce audible distortion. FabFilter Pro-C 2 is capable of very fast attack times and they are program dependent. The Release knob sets the time that the compressor takes to recover from gain reduction. The various compression characteristics of Pro-C 2 use different release models, and in most cases, the release time is very program dependent. This means that Pro-C 2 recovers very quickly from compression after a transient, and quite slowly after longer periods of gain reduction. Note: When Auto Release is used, the Release knob will adjust the overall effect of the auto release feature on the release time. The Auto Release button (the AUTO label next to RELEASE) enables a smart auto release feature. When enabled, the compressor adjusts the release time depending on the current amount of gain reduction, so this actually introduces an additional form of program dependency. When Auto Release is used, the Release knob will adjust the overall effect of the auto release feature on the release time. The Lookahead slider sets how much advance time Pro-C 2 will use to anticipate peaks in the audio signal. Using a bit of lookahead can help to preserve transients and results in much more transparent gain reduction. Because lookahead causes additional latency, it can be globally enabled or disabled in the bottom bar. The Hold slider sets the time with which peaks in gain reduction will be prolonged. Applying a bit of hold time can help increase the transparency of gain reduction. With longer hold times, you can achieve nice pumping effects. The Wet Gain knob adjusts the gain of the signal after it has been compressed. This is also known as make-up gain because it compensates for the gain reduction introduced by the compressor. The pan ring around the Wet Gain knob controls the balance between mid and side. This can be especially useful when applying make-up gain after mid-only or side-only compression. When Auto Gain is enabled (using the AUTO button next to GAIN), automatic make-up gain is applied to the processed signal, depending on current settings for Threshold, Ratio, Knee and Attack. Auto Gain helps you to keep the audible audio level the same while adjusting the controls. The Auto Gain algorithm is aware of mid-only or sideonly processing. So for example, if you’re compressing 100% mid-only, Auto Gain will only apply make-up gain to the mid signal and leave the side-signal untouched.
Note that the auto-gain algorithm doesn’t actually measure loudness to determine which gain to apply. It just makes an educated guess, so you might want still to tweak the output gain in some situations. The Dry Gain knob controls the amount of dry (uncompressed) input signal that is added to the output. This is called parallel compression: the dynamics in the dry signal are preserved while the compressed signal adds body and character to the overall sound. The advantage of this is that the sound is reinforced where it needs it, but without the risk of crushing any peak transients.
Program dependency The different compressor styles in FabFilter Pro-C 2 all have their own kind of program dependency. This means that the compressor reacts differently to different kinds of input (program material). For example, Pro-C 2 will recover very fast from transients (fast changes/peaks), but will react quite a bit slower after longer periods of gain reduction. Both the attack and release times are less or more program dependent, depending on the chosen compression style.
Next: Side chain section See Also Dynamics controls Using FabFilter Pro-C 2
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Side chain section
Click the Side Chain Expert button (centered under the main panel with compressor controls), to enable or disable the advanced side chain features, like stereo linking, M/S processing and side-chain EQ’ing.
The Side Chain Expert button globally enables or disables the side chain section. To avoid surprises, the side chain settings are only in effect when the side chain section is visible. The In/Ext buttons choose between the internal, normal plug-in input, or the external side chain input. For more information on connecting the external side chain in various hosts, see External side chaining. The Audition button lets you listen to the filtered and stereo-linked signal that will be used to trigger compression. You can turn Audition mode on or off with a single click, but you can also click-and- hold the button to temporarily audition the trigger signal.
Stereo linking and M/S processing The Stereo Link slider sets the amount of stereo linking for the trigger input signal, and also selects between normal stereo processing or mid-only/side-only processing. The first half of the slider range sets stereo linking from 0% (fully unlinked, channels operate independently) up to 100% (fully linked, resulting in the same gain reduction for both channels). By dragging the slider further, Pro-C 2 will eventually process only the mid-signal (mono content of the processed audio), or only the side-signal (stereo content of the processed audio). If you’d like to learn more about mid/side processing and its various uses, check out our Mid Side Demystified video tutorial by Dan Worrall. Using the small Stereo Link Mode button at the right bottom of the Stereo Link slider, you can choose between four options. With the slider all the way to the right, this will be the result:
Mid – Only trigger on, and apply compression to, the mid signal. Side – Only trigger on, and apply compression to, the side signal. M>S – Trigger on the mid signal but only apply compression to the side signal. S>M – Trigger on the side signal but only apply compression to the mid signal. M/S processing can be very useful, especially during mastering. For example, bass or lead vocals are often placed in the center of the stereo image, so only processing the mid-signal will leave all stereo content untouched, ensuring the most transparent end result possible. To better understand the working of these settings, enable the Audition button. You can now directly hear the effect of stereo linking and mid-only or side-only processing! Side chain EQ controller The large interactive EQ controller takes up most of the side chain section, and enables you to easily adjust the side chain filtering. It offers a fixed number of bands: a low cut filter, a high cut filter and one additional “Mid” band in the center, which is fully customizable. Note that the Mid band is in Auto Mode by default. This makes it a Bell curve with automatically chosen frequency, gain and Q settings. It’s placed in between the low and high cut filters. When these are enabled, it will accentuate the center frequency when the range gets very narrow. This makes it a lot easier to trigger on very specific frequencies.
When you disable Auto Mode for the Mid filter, you can freely adjust its frequency, gain, Q and shape (Bell, Low Shelf, High 11

Shelf, Band Pass, Notch or Tilt), and control it directly via the side chain EQ controller. You can interact with the display in various ways: Selecting bands
Click the EQ band’s dot or the colored area around it to select it. Click and drag on the display background to select adjacent bands by dragging a rectangle around them. Hold down Ctrl (Command on macOS) and click another dot to select multiple bands. Hold down Shift and click a dot to select a consecutive range of bands. Deselect all bands by clicking anywhere on on the display background. Adjusting and editing bands Once you have one or more side chain EQ bands selected, the display highlights the shapes of the selected bands. Now you can simply make adjustments by dragging them around: Click and drag a selected dot to adjust the frequency of the selected bands (and the gain of the customizable mid band). Use the mouse wheel to adjust the Q setting of the mid band, making them narrower or wider. This works while dragging or when the mouse pointer is above a curve. Alternatively, hold down Ctrl (Command on macOS) while dragging vertically. Hold down Shift while dragging to fine-tune the settings of the selected bands. Hold down Alt while dragging to constrain to horizontal adjustments (frequency) or vertical adjustments (gain or Q, depending on the Ctrl/Command key). Hold down Alt and click the dot on an EQ band once to toggle its bypass state (enabling or disabling the band). Hold down Ctrl+Alt (Command+Alt on macOS) and click the dot of the customizable Mid band to change its shape. Hold down Alt+Shift and click the dot of the low or high cut filter once to change its slope. Double- click a dot to enter values in the parameter value display (using the Tab key to step through Frequency, Gain and Q) or double-click the values in the parameter value display directly. Note that you can enter frequencies in various ways, like “100”, “2k”, “A4” or “C#2+13”. If you right-click on the dot for an EQ band, a pop-up menu appears with various band settings. This is a quick way to modify the EQ band while you’re working in the display. Tips The Stereo Link slider is of course only enabled in the stereo version of FabFilter Pro-C 2. In Full Screen mode, available via the button at the right top of the interface, Pro-C 2 will fill the whole screen, making the side chain EQ controller much larger as well, so you can make very precise adjustements. See Full Screen mode and resizing. Compression is also triggered by MIDI notes. If at least one note is on, the compressor behaves as if a 0 dB signal is entering the side chain at this moment, so it is strongly triggered. The Disable/Enable MIDI option in the MIDI Learn menu turns this off as well. Next: Displays and metering See Also Using FabFilter Pro-C 2 Dynamics controls Time controls
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Displays and metering
FabFilter Pro-C 2 features a large animated level display with an optional knee display on top of it, and precise input, gain reduction and output metering. Knee display The knee display shows the input/output relationship, visualizing the Threshold, Ratio, Knee and Range settings. The horizontal axis of the display corresponds to the input signal level, and the vertical axis is the output level, both in dB. When running audio through the plug-in, the white transfer curve will turn green, indicating the current input level. You can choose to show or hide the knee display using the Knee button at its right-hand border. Once you’ve chosen a setting, new instances of the plug-in will always open this way.
Note that knee display, level display and level meters all use the same meter scale, which makes it easier than ever to find the proper compression settings. The scale can be adjusted using the meter scale button at the right bottom of the interface (next to the level meters). Once you’ve chosen a setting, new instances of the plug-in will always open with the selected meter scale. Level display
The top part of Pro-C 2 is actually a large animated level display, with the main compression controls panel floating above it. The level display visualizes the input and output level, together with the applied gain change. The input is shown in dark grey, whil the output is light grey with a light stroke, which makes it easy to see the exact effects of the applied gain reduction. The gain reduction itself is shown as a red line. Using the Display button (right above the Style button in the compression controls panel), you can hide or show the level display. Hiding it will also hide the knee display and changes the vertical level meters to larger horizontal ones. This way, Pro-C 2 looks and feels more like a traditional compressor. Once you’ve chosen to show/hide the dislay, new instances of the plug-in will always open this way.
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Peak level and loudness level metering At the right of the interface, there are three accurate peak level meters that display the current input, gain reduction and output levels. The read-outs above the level meters show the highest measured peak value, until you click on them. Aditionally, the input and output meters also show the loudness level (per channel) on top of the peak level. The loudness level complies with the Momentary mode of the EBU R128 / ITU-R 1770 standards. Notes
You can change the scale of the displays and level meters using the meter scale drop-down button, ranging from 9 dB (for precise mastering purposes) to 90 dB (general mixing and bus processing). If the level meters indicate clipping, this does not imply distortion in Pro-C 2: it can handle levels above 0 dB easily. Rather, this indicates that the signal might clip in another part of the audio chain, for example your sound card or host software. Click at the top of a meter to reset its clipping indication. Next: Oversampling See Also Dynamics controls Input and output options Using FabFilter Pro-C 2
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Oversampling
The dynamics algorithms often need to make very quick changes to the audio when applying gain change. These sudden changes can introduce a small amount of aliasing, which causes distortion and generally reduces the quality of the audio signal. Oversampling is a way to reduce that aliasing by running the internal process at a sample rate that is two or four times higher than the host’s sample rate.
When should I use oversampling? You need it more when the compression is more aggressive and apparent. Usually, this is the case when using lower Attack and Release and/or higher Ratio and Range settings. Of course, in return for a reduction of possible aliasing/distortion, the plug-in will use more CPU power when using oversampling. In addition, oversampling introduces a small latency, in addition to lookahead latency. Tips
Do you need to use zero-latency processing? Disable oversampling and lookahead in the bottom bar. Next: Full screen mode, resizing and scaling See Also Using FabFilter Pro-C 2 Dynamics controls Time controls
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Full Screen mode, resizing and scaling
With just the click of a button, the Pro-C 2 interface will fill up the whole computer screen so you can make ultra-precise adjustments and get the best view on the spectrum analyzer and filter display. To exit Full Screen mode, just press Escape or click the Full Screen button again.
Resizing In addition to Full Screen mode, you can also customize the normal interface size using the Resize button at the right of the bottom bar. You can choose between Small, Medium (the default size) or Large. Once you have selected a size, it will automatically become the default size for new plug-in instances.
Scaling At the bottom of the resize menu, the Scaling submenu lets you increase or decrease the interface scaling relative to the system default, e.g. 150% (smaller) or 300% (larger) on Retina monitors (that have a 200% scaling by default). When you enable Full Screen mode, the plug-in will automatically choose an appropriate scaling so that all controls become a bit larger. The plug-in automatically remembers the chosen scalings for normal and Full screen mode, and also per monitor type (Retina / High DPI or regular), so once you’ve customized the settings to your preference, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
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Tips When using the VST3 plug-in, you can resize the plug-in interface by just dragging the window edges to any size you like. Of course you can always go back to one of the predefined sizes with the resize button. The large interface options will be greyed out in the Resize button menu if the current display is too small to support them, and the same applies to the scaling options.
Next: Input and output options See Also Using FabFilter Pro-C 2 Side chain section
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Input and output options
At the right-hand side of the interface, FabFilter Pro-C 2 offers high- resolution input, gain reduction and output level meters. At the top of the meters, the maximum level is displayed together with a clipping indicator. Simply click the level readings to reset them. At the right bottom of the interface, you’ll find the bypass, mix, input level and output level controls, all accessed via a single output button. As soon as you hover the mouse above the output button, a panel will pop up, giving you access to the following settings:
The Input Level/Pan knob at the left adjusts the level and L/R panning of the input signal before any processing is applied. You can use this as an alternative to changing the threshold. The Output Level/Pan knob at the right adjusts the level and L/R panning of the final output signal. This lets you compensate globally for any gain added or removed by dynamics processing. The Global Bypass toggle button to the left of the Mix button bypasses the entire plugin. While most hosts already provide the ability to bypass plug-ins, our internal global bypass feature is guaranteed to correctly compensate the latency of the plug-in and it also applies soft bypassing to avoid clicks. While the plug-in is bypassed, the display dims and a red light glows in the bypass button itself. The top of the output button in the bottom bar is also highlighted in red. The Mix slider enables you to mix between the dry and processed signals, scaling the overall dynamic and static gain changes. Because the Mix slider ranges from 0% to 200%, you can also choose to increase overall gain processing instead of fading it out! Tips You can directly adjust the mix, input gain or output gain by clicking and dragging the button text vertically. You can use your mouse wheel while hovering over the button text or double-click it to directly enter a value using the keyboard. If desired, you can make the output options panel ‘sticky’ by clicking the output button once. Click it again to hide the panel. By holding down the Alt key (Shift key in Pro Tools) while dragging, input and output level can be adjusted simultaneously in the opposite direction. Next: MIDI Learn See Also Using FabFilter Pro-C 2 Knobs
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MIDI Learn
Controlling FabFilter Pro-C 2’s parameters directly with MIDI is very easy using the MIDI Learn feature. With MIDI Learn, you can associate any MIDI controller with any parameter.
Click the MIDI Learn button in the bottom bar to enter MIDI Learn mode. The interface dims and the parameters that can be controlled are highlighted. Each parameter has a small text balloon that displays the associated controller number. Now do the following to associate a controller number with a parameter:
1. Touch the control of the desired parameter in the interface that you wish to control. A red square will mark the chosen parameter.
2. Adjust the slider or knob on your MIDI keyboard or MIDI controller that you want to associate with that parameter.
That’s it! The parameter will now be controlled with the MIDI controller. You can now go back to step 1 to associate a different parameter. Note that there is no warning when you associate a different knob with a controller number that is already used. It will just be replaced. To exit MIDI Learn mode, click the MIDI Learn button again, or click Close at the top of the interface. Click the small menu drop-down button next to the MIDI Learn button to access the MIDI Learn menu:
Enable MIDI This globally turns MIDI control of parameters on or off: useful in hosts that automatically send all MIDI events on a track to all effect plug-ins associated with that track as well. Clear This submenu shows all parameter associations and lets you delete individual associations or clear all associations in one step. Revert Reverts to the last saved MIDI mapping (or the state when the plug-in was started). Save Saves the current MIDI mapping so Revert will go back to this state. The current mapping is automatically saved
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when closing the plug-in. Routing MIDI to effect plug-ins For MIDI Learn to work properly, the plug-in need to actually receive MIDI of course. Depending on your host, it can be quite difficult to route MIDI data to effect plug-ins. Here’s how to do it in the most important hosts:
Pro Tools Create a new MIDI track. From the MIDI input drop down menu, choose your MIDI device (if not already selected) and from the MIDI output drop down menu, choose FabFilter Pro-C 2 -> channel 1 for the instance you would like to control. Logic Pro Instead of adding FabFilter Pro-C 2 to one of the insert slots, create a new Instrument Track, and click on the Instrument slot. Then choose AU MIDI-controlled Effects > FabFilter > Pro-C 2. Now, the plug-in receives MIDI. To get audio into the plug-in, click the ‘Side Chain’ drop down menu in Logic’s plug-in header and choose the actual input track. Next, you can mute that original track, so you only hear the audio through the plug-in. The only downside is that plug-ins with an external side-chain cannot use it anymore. Ableton Live First of all, create a new MIDI track. From the ‘MIDI from’ drop down menu, choose your MIDI device (if not already selected). Then, in the ‘MIDI to’ drop down menu, choose the Audio track that has FabFilter Pro-C 2 on it. Note: only the first plug-in on any track can receive MIDI. Cubase Simply create a new MIDI track and set its output to the Pro-C 2 instance you would like to control via MIDI. Tips Compression is also triggered by MIDI notes. If at least one note is on, the compressor behaves as if a 0 dB signal is entering the side chain at this moment, so it is strongly triggered. The Disable/Enable MIDI option in the MIDI Learn menu turns this off as well. Next: Undo, redo, A/B switch
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Undo, redo, A/B switch
The Undo and Redo buttons at the top of the FabFilter Pro-C 2 interface enable you to easily undo changes you made to the plug-in. With the A/B feature, you can quickly switch between two different states of the plug-in.
The Undo button at the left will undo the last change. Every change to the plug-in (such as dragging a knob or selecting a new preset) creates a new state in the undo history. The Undo button steps back through the history to restore the previous states of the plug-in. The Redo button cancels the last undo command. It steps forward through the history until you are back at the most recent plug-in state. The A/B button switches from A to B and back. Before switching, the current state of the plug-in is saved, so if you click this button twice, you are back at the first state. The button highlights the currently selected state (A or B). In the example above, the A state is active. The Copy button copies the active state to the inactive state. This marks the current state of the plug-in and allows you to go back to it easily with the A/B button. After clicking Copy, the button disables itself to show that both states are equal, so there is nothing to copy anymore. Notes If the plug-in parameters are changed without using the plug-in interface, for example with MIDI or automation, no new undo states are recorded. The Undo and Redo buttons will disable themselves if there is nothing to undo or redo. Next: Using on iOS See Also Using FabFilter Pro-C 2
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Loading presets
Plenty of presets are provided with FabFilter Pro-C 2, giving a good idea of what you can do. You can either use the presets as they are, or tweak them further to create your own unique settings.
To load a preset, click the preset button. The presets menu will appear with all available presets. Click a menu item to load that preset. The currently selected preset is highlighted with check marks. To explore the presets one by one, click on the little arrow buttons to the left and right of the main preset button. This will load the previous or next preset in the menu. The preset button shows the name of the current preset. If you have changed the preset by adjusting one or more parameters, the name is dimmed to indicate that this is not the original preset anymore. Tips The Default Setting preset is loaded automatically when FabFilter Pro-C 2 is started. To change the default settings, simply overwrite this preset by clicking Options > Save As Default in the presets menu. To open a preset outside the presets folder, click Options > Open Other Preset. This might be useful if someone sends you a preset by email, for example. If somehow the factory presets are lost or not installed properly, click Options > Restore Factory Presets in the preset menu to restore them. MIDI Program Change and Bank Select Loading a presets can also be done via MIDI, using Bank Select and Program Change messages. Click Options > Enable MIDI Program Changes in the preset menu to enable or disable this feature. When enabled, the corresponding bank/program numbers are shown in front of the preset name (for example: (0/65) My Preset). This means that you can load that preset by first sending a Bank Select message to select bank 0 and then sending a Program Change message to select program 65. Important: All the presets in your preset folder are numbered automatically, starting with bank 0 and program 0. This way, you are able to access any of the presets via MIDI. However, this also means that when you add new presets to the menu, bank/program numbers of other presets might change. Be aware of this when recording program changes in a session! We recommend to create a dedicated folder in your presets folder for your program changes, and name it with two leading underscores (e.g. “__Programs”) to ensure it’s the first folder in your preset collection and the presets in this folder start with bank 0 and program 0. Next: Saving presets See Also Using on iOS Undo, Redo, A/B switch Using FabFilter Pro-C Acknowledgements
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Saving presets
You can easily extend the included presets with new settings to build your own library of presets for FabFilter Pro-C 2 that you can reuse in various projects. This is also a good way to copy settings across multiple instances of FabFilter Pro-C 2 in a session. To save the current setting as a preset, click the preset button, and then click Save As. A standard Save dialog will appear. Type a name for the new preset and click Save to finish. In the Save dialog, you can also rename and delete existing presets and create a new folder to store presets in. New folders will show up as new categories in the preset menu. (On macOS, this should be done with the Finder.) Right-click shortcut menu You can also right-click on the preset button to open a small menu with shortcuts:
Save: Overwrite the currently loaded preset. You will be asked for confirmation before saving. Save As: Just like choosing the ‘Save As…’ item from the main menu. See How presets are stored to determine the preset folder location and learn more about factory presets. Next: How presets are stored See Also Loading presets Using FabFilter Pro-C
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How presets are stored
Presets for FabFilter Pro-C 2 are stored in separate files with the .ffp extension (for FabFilter Preset). All presets reside in subfolders in the main preset folder. The subfolders will show up as separate categories in the preset menu. You can also further divide the subfolders into categories. You can manage the preset files just like other files on your computer. The easiest way to do this is in the Save dialog that appears if you are saving a preset. The preset menu will automatically reload itself with the changes when the dialog is closed. Furthermore it is very easy to share your newly created presets with other users since FabFilter presets use the same file format on both Windows and macOS. The default location of the main preset folder is Documents/FabFilter/Presets/Pro-C 2 on both Windows and macOS. To change this location, first copy all presets to the desired new location. Click Options > Change Preset Folder in the preset menu and select the new folder. Note: previously on macOS, presets were stored in ~/Library/Audio/Presets/FabFilter/FabFilter Pro-C 2. To determine the current location of the presets folder, click Options > Change Preset Folder in the preset menu. Restoring factory presets If you have accidentally lost the factory presets, you can easily restore them by clicking Options > Restore Factory Presets in the preset menu. This will install all factory presets again. Next: Purchasing FabFilter Pro C See Also Saving presets Using FabFilter Pro C
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Purchasing FabFilter Pro-C
Once you have downloaded and installed the evaluation copy of FabFilter Pro-C 2, you may evaluate it during 30 days. Every time you start the plug-in, you will see the following dialog:
While there are still days left, you can click Evaluate to start working with the plugin. If you want to keep using FabFilter Pro-C 2 after the evaluation period, you must buy a copy in the online FabFilter Shop by clicking the Buy Now button in the evaluation dialog.
Go to the FabFilter Shop and purchase FabFilter Pro-C 2 now We accept a wide range of payment methods, like credit cards, PayPal, wire transfer and iDeal. The FabFilter Shop uses secure connections and encryption: therefore your personal information is completely safe. Within a few minutes after you have purchased your copy, you will receive an email containing your personal license key. You use this license key to turn the evaluation copy into a fully registered version without the evaluation dialog and the 30-day trial restriction. In addition, we will automatically create a FabFilter account for you (if you don’t have one already). Here, you can access all your license keys at any time. Note: If the evaluation period has expired but you didn’t have the chance to properly evaluate the plug-in, you can request a new evaluation period by contacting us at info@fabfilter.com . Next: Entering your license key See Also Support License agreement
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Entering your license key
After you have purchased FabFilter Pro-C 2 in the online FabFilter Shop , you will immediately receive an email containing your personal license key. This license key will turn the evaluation version into a fully registered plug-in.
Start FabFilter Pro-C 2 and click Enter License in the evaluation dialog, or click Enter License on the Help menu if the plug-in is already running. Copy the license information from the email you have received and paste it into the text field. Make sure that you are copying the entire license key including the Product and Licensee lines! If you are not sure what text to copy, just copy and paste the whole email.
After you have entered your license information, you will need to restart the plug-in host, so make sure you save your settings if needed. From now on, you will be able to use FabFilter Pro-C 2 for an unlimited period of time with full support via email. Tips
After your purchase, you can always retrieve your license key again by logging into your personal FabFilter account . Here you can also keep track of all your orders and take advantage of great discounts when buying other
FabFilter plug-ins. To deauthorize your license key and remove it from the computer, click Deauthorize on the Help menu. If you temporarily needed to install your license on another computer, or if you have transferred your license to someone else, this is the way to deinstall your personal license key safely. Next: Support See Also Purchasing FabFilter Pro-C Support License agreement
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Support
If you need help with problems or questions, and the help file does not provide an answer, please visit the support pages on our web site.
Go to FabFilter Support From here, you have direct access to the customer support forum, very useful tutorial videos for all FabFilter plug-ins, online and PDF versions of all our help files, and a section with extra downloads (such as presets, controller templates, older plug-in versions). For sales- related questions and technical support, you can also contact FabFilter directly at info@fabfilter.com. Reporting a bug If you have encountered a bug in FabFilter Pro-C 2, first of all make sure that you are using the latest version of the plugin, which you can find at www.fabfilter.com/download . You can easily check the version of FabFilter Pro-C 2 that you are using by clicking Help > About in the plug-in interface. If the bug is still present in the latest version, please send us an email at info@fabfilter.com and include as much technical information as possible: operation system and version, host software and version, steps to reproduce the bug, etc. Thanks in advance! Next: Upgrading to Pro-C 2 See Also Using FabFilter Pro-C Acknowledgements About FabFilter
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Upgrading to Pro-C 2
Upgrading from Pro-C version 1 to the new Pro-C 2 is safe and easy: installing Pro-C 2 will not replace or delete the previous Pro-C 1 plug-in. Both versions will co-exist and can both be used at the same time. This ensures that you can open old songs that use Pro-C 1 without problems! Pro-C 1 presets Presets created with Pro-C 1 can be loaded in Pro-C 2. If you upgraded from Pro-C 1 to the new version, your original ProC 1 presets will be accessible via the V1 Preset Folder item in the preset menu. See also Loading presets. Note: Because we’ve implemented quite some changes and improvements in Pro-C 2, it’s possible that a Pro-C 1 preset loaded into Pro-C 2 sounds different! Replacing a Pro-C 1 instance by Pro-C 2 If you are working on a song and want to replace a Pro-C 1 instance with the new Pro-C 2, we advise you to do the following:
First, save the current setting of the Pro-C 1 instance as a FabFilter preset in the Pro-C 1 preset folder. Then, remove the Pro-C 1 instance and add Pro-C 2 in its place. Finally, load the V1 preset that you just created into Pro-C 2 via the V1 Preset Folder submenu in the preset menu. Automation Because the feature set of Pro-C 2 has changed fundamentally, any automation data that has been written by a Pro-C 1 instance cannot be read correctly by Pro-C 2. Next: Manual installation See Also Overview Support
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Manual installation
When installing FabFilter Pro-C 2, the installation program will try to copy the plug-in into the appropriate plug-ins folders, and in most cases your host will recognize FabFilter Pro-C 2 automatically. Otherwise, please follow these instructions: Windows On Windows, most hosts have their own VST plug-ins folder. So if you are using Windows and your host does not recognize FabFilter Pro-C 2, you need to locate the proper plug-ins folder for your host first (it is usually shown in the Preferences or similar dialog). Then, copy the file FabFilter Pro-C 2.dll from C:Program FilesFabFilterPro-C 2 (or C:Program Files (x86)FabFilterPro-C 2 if you are using a 32-bit host on 64-bit Windows) to the plug-ins folder that you have found and restart the host so it can reload all its plug-ins. The VST3, CLAP, and AAX plug-ins are installed in the standard plug-in folders on your computer. You can simply uninstall plug-ins or bundles via the Control Panel. macOS On macOS, plug-ins are installed in the standard plug-in folders in the system Library folder. These are the only possible correct locations:
Audio Units: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components VST/VST3: /Library/Audio/Plug- Ins/VST and /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 CLAP: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP AAX: /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins Note: AU and VST/VST3 plug-ins may also be placed in the user’s Library folders under /Users//Library/Audio/Plug-Ins. To uninstall the plug-ins from your Mac, you can just delete the specific FabFilter plug-in files at the above locations. Finally, if you really want to delete all data written by our plug- ins, you can remove the following folders/files as well: /Users//Documents/FabFilter/Presets/Pro-C 2 /Users//Library/Audio/Presets/FabFilter/FabFilter Pro-C 2 /Users//Library/Application Support/FabFilter/Pro-C 2 /Users//Library/Preferences/com.fabfilter.Pro-C.2.plist Note: Since OS X 10.7 (Lion), the system and user Library folders are marked as hidden by default. To make them visible again in Finder, open Terminal (found in /Applications/Utilities) and enter the following commands:
chflags nohidden /Library chflags nohidden ~/Library If you still have problems, contact FabFilter Support . Next: VST Plug-in versions See Also Quick start Support
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VST plug-in versions
FabFilter Pro-C 2 is available in both VST 2 and VST 3 formats. They can be installed and used both at the same time. The VST 3 format offers easy side- chaining, free interface resizing, and is more CPU-friendly in some cases, but it can only be used by hosts that support it, for example recent versions of Cubase, Studio One or FL Studio. The VST 2 format is compatible with a larger variety of hosts. Both the VST 2 and VST 3 versions of the plug-in automatically adapt themselves to the channel layout of the track they are inserted on (mono/stereo). For the VST 2 format, there is a separate FabFilter Pro-C 2 (Mono) version of the plug-in which always runs in mono mode. This is included for backwards compatibility with existing sessions. For new sessions we recommend to use the regular plug-in which automatically adapts itself to the track it is inserted on. Next: External side chaining See Also Quick start Manual installation
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External side chaining
FabFilter Pro-C 2 offers the possibility of feeding an external signal to its side chain, so that you can make it trigger on a different signal than the audio it is actually processing. Feeding a signal to a plug-in’s side-chain inputs works slightly different in various hosts. This topic describes the procedure for some of the most popular hosts around: Pro Tools, Studio One, Ableton Live, Logic Pro and Cubase. To explain how it works, we use a scenario with two tracks. The first one contains the audio that we want to process with Pro-C 2, which we’ll call the main track from now. The second track contains the audio that we want to route to Pro-C 2’s external side-chain input and use as trigger signal. We’ll call this track the side chain track. After setting up everything according to the instructions below for your host, you can check whether everything is routed correctly. Play the audio and enable FabFilter Pro-C 2’s Audition button to listen to the side chain signal. While auditioning, the real-time display and metering show the side chain level, so you can easily set a correct trigger threshold. Afterwards, disable the Audition mode again. Now, you’ll hear that Pro-C 2 on the main track will react to the sound of the side chain track. Of course, you can fine-tune the plug-ins settings to customize the effect. Pro Tools
Open Pro Tools and start a new empty session. Create two audio tracks that we’ll use as main track and side chain track. Add audio files to both track. Open the Mix window to display the tracks with their Insert slots and Sends slots. In the first ‘Sends’ slot of the side chain track, choose ‘Bus 1’. The track view for Bus 1 will open: set its level slider to 0.0 dB so the bus actually produces audio! In the first ‘Inserts’ slot of the main track, choose Dynamics > FabFilter Pro-C 2. Open FabFilter Pro-C 2’s interface, enable Expert / Side Chain mode, and set Side Chain to Ext. Now, in the ‘Key Input’ menu of the plug-in interface (just above the FabFilter logo), choose bus > Bus 1 instead of the default ‘no key input’. Now, the audio from the side chain track is routed to Pro-C 2’s external side chain input via Bus 1.
Studio One Open Studio One and choose ‘Create a new song’. Add two audio tracks (via Track > Add Tracks…) that we’ll use as main track and side chain track. Add audio files on both the main track and the side chain track. You can simply drag audio files from a Finder/Explorer window onto a track. Access the mix window via “Mix” in Studio One’s bottom right corner. Insert FabFilter Pro-C 2 on your main track via the ‘+’ button next to the Insert tab. Open FabFilter Pro-C 2’s interface, enable Expert mode, and set Side Chain to Ext. On the side chain track, select Sends > Sidechains > FabFilter Pro-C 2.
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Ableton Live Open Ableton Live and start with an empty arrangement. We’ll use Track 1 as the side chain track and Track 2 as the main track. From the folder menu’s on at the left top of Ableton Live’s interface, drag different audio clips to the first empty slots of Track 1 and Track 2. From the VST (or Audio Units) plug-in menu, also at the left top of Ableton Live’s interface, drag FabFilter Pro-C 2 onto Track 2, the main track. In the small device interface for Pro-C 2 in the bottom Effects section, choose ‘Track 1’ from the ‘Sidechain’ drop down menu. Open FabFilter Pro-C 2’s interface, enable Expert mode, and set Side Chain to Ext. Note: In earlier versions of Ableton Live (< 10.1), setting up sidechaining worked differently, which is described here .
Logic Pro Open Logic Pro and create a new empty project via File > New… Add two audio tracks (via Track > New…) that we’ll use as main track and side chain track. Add audio files on both the main track and the side chain track. You can simply drag audio files from a Finder/Explorer window onto a track. Select the main track and add Pro-C 2 in the first Insert effect slot. Open FabFilter Pro-C 2’s interface, enable Expert mode, and set Side Chain to Ext. In the right top corner of the plug-in interface header, in the ‘Side Chain’ menu, choose the side chain track. Now, the signal from the side chain track is sent to FabFilter Pro-C 2’s external side-chain input.
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Cubase Open Cubase and create a new empty project. Add two audio tracks that we’ll use as main track and side chain track. Add audio files on both the main track and the side chain track. You can simply drag audio files from a Finder/Explorer window onto a track. Open the Mixer. In the main track, click on an empty insert slot and select the VST 3 version of FabFilter Pro-C 2 in the Dynamics menu (note the VST 3 icon which looks like ///). Open FabFilter Pro-C 2’s interface, enable Expert mode, and set Side Chain to Ext. In the plug-in header, click on the Activate Side-Chain button (right of the R/W buttons) to enable the external side chain in Cubase. At the top of the Mixer, set the output for the side chain track to the side-chain input of FabFilter Pro-C 2.
Next: License agreement See Also Quick start Using FabFilter Pro-C 2 Manual installation
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FabFilter Software License Agreement
This license agreement concerns and describes your rights and the conditions upon which you may use the FabFilter software you selected. We advise you to read this entire agreement. By accepting this agreement or by using FabFilter software, you agree to all of these terms. If you do not accept and comply with these terms, you may not use the FabFilter software or its features.
Applicability
This license agreement applies to all the FabFilter software, plug-ins and programs you may use during the Evaluation period, and/or thereafter subject to an acquired license key to certain FabFilter software of any version, including any and all upgrades, supplements or services, unless other terms come with such versions, upgrades or supplements.
Licenses
The software will be licensed to the Customer, not sold. With the FabFilter license key, you will be granted after full payment the right in perpetuity (meaning that the license agreement shall not automatically expire) to install, run and use the software concerned under certain conditions. These conditions vary subject to the license you acquired. FabFilter distinguishes the following licenses:
A Personal License is a named license to the software concerned, granting access to the software on an unlimited number of Devices, as long the license is used by the designated person who acquired the FabFilter license key. Usage of the Personal license by someone else but the designated licensee is an infringement of the rights of FabFilter. The Customer should at all times protect its license key from theft and/or abuse.
A Site License is a non-personal license to the FabFilter software concerned, acquired on the name of an institution or entity, who is the licensee. A Site License will grant access to the FabFilter software on a certain maximum number of designated Devices, as specified in the license key itself (e.g. “20 seats”). If the Site License is used on computers/servers for any form of automated processing, the licensee may not make any plug-in controls/parameters of the FabFilter software available to the end users of the FabFilter software, i.e. only “black box” processing is allowed.
These FabFilter licenses, whether a Personal or Site License, will give you access to certain FabFilter software of the specified major version. The license will include all future minor updates to the software (e.g. version 2.19 to version 2.20), which typically include bug fixes or small new features. The license will exclude any future new major versions of the products (e.g. version 1.x to version 2.x). To allow yourself access to such new major version of the software, a new FabFilter license to such major version must be acquired.
All FabFilter licenses, both Personal or Site License, give the Customer or end user the right to install and use the FabFilter software to the extent it has been developed and under the conditions herein. Any rights not explicitly granted to you, the Customer, remain with FabFilter, including but not limited to the right to alter, reverse engineer, reverse compile, take apart, or disassemble the FabFilter software or any of the files in the distribution.
A Bundle License is Personal or Site License for multiple FabFilter software products, which gives the Customer or end user the right to install and use the specific software products that the bundle (e.g. Total Bundle) contains at the moment of purchasing the Bundle License. Any software products or new major software versions added to the bundle after that date cannot be claimed as part of the prior acquired Bundle License. A Bundle License (if not Educational or NFR) can only be transferred as a whole, using a License Transfer.
An Upgrade License is a Personal or Site License for a new major version of FabFilter software. You may only use an Upgrade License if you have a license for the previous major version of the same FabFilter software.
Educational (EDU) and NFR licenses
A Personal or Site License can be marked as EDU (Educational) or NFR (Not For Resale), meaning the following:
A Personal or Site License marked as Educational License is equal to the respective Personal or Site License, with the only exception that the Educational License may not be transferred to a third party.
A Personal or Site License marked as NFR (“Not For Resale”), is typically intended for journalists that wish to review the FabFilter software. A License marked as NFR is equal to the respective Personal or Site License, with the only exception that the NFR License may not be transferred to a third party.
Duration and Evaluation
As specified in the specific terms per license, all licenses will be granted for perpetuity (meaning that the license agreement shall not automatically expire), as long as all conditions herein are respected.
The Evaluation period is a period of thirty (30) days commencing on the first day of using the software concerned and automatically expiring 30 days thereafter. After the Evaluation period has expired and no FabFilter license key has been acquired, the software will stop working and should be removed from your computer.
In addition to any and all such possibilities that FabFilter may have in accordance with the law, FabFilter may terminate without prior notice or warning in case of abuse of the FabFilter software as well as in case of (personal) bankruptcy.
Support
FabFilter shall give its reasonable commercial efforts to service any major version of any FabFilter software including email support. FabFilter is entitled to terminate support for any major version of any FabFilter software at any time at its sole discretion.
License Transfer
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A Personal or Site License (not Educational or NFR) may be transferred to a third party. You will have to buy a License Transfer to activate the “transfer”-option in your FabFilter account . After this option has been activated you will be able to transfer your license to any third party. Third Party Software VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. RTAS and AAX are trademarks of Avid Technology, inc. Audio Units is a trademark of Apple Computer, inc. Applicable Law This license agreement is governed by Dutch law. The courts of Amsterdam are authorized courts to rule on any dispute that may arise from this license agreement. Disclaimer TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FABFILTER B.V. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON- INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. FABFILTER B.V. DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FABFILTER B.V. SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE A FABFILTER PRODUCT MAY CAUSE OR DAMAGES THAT MAY ARISE OUT OF THE USE OF A FABFILTER PRODUCT OR INABILITY TO USE A FABFILTER PRODUCT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT FABFILTER B.V. WILL BE LIABLE FOR AN AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF TWO HUNDRED FIFTY EUROS ( 250,00). Next: Acknowledgements See Also Purchase FabFilter Pro-C 2 Support
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Acknowledgements
A huge thanks to our beta testers for their relentless testing of all the different beta versions! An extra thanks to bManic for the many Factory Presets that he contributed. Next: About FabFilter See Also Purchase FabFilter Pro-C 2 Support
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About FabFilter
Beautiful sound. Fantastic workflow. These are the foundations of FabFilter. We create powerful audio plug-ins with superb sound quality and innovative interfaces. A unique perspective At FabFilter, we make the best possible tools for music production and audio processing. To achieve this, we continually rethink and challenge industry standards: we’ve never been afraid of reinventing the wheel. Considering every little detail, we tune our algorithms and interfaces until they sound perfect, look amazing and feel great to work with. It’s the sound that counts Above everything else, you need superb sound quality. That’s why we put a lot of effort into developing unique audio processing algorithms, ranging from our famous resonating filters to transparent high-end EQ and dynamics processing. Innovative interfaces, great design Every FabFilter plug-in has an easy-to-use, well-designed interface aimed at providing unsurpassed workflow. Our plug-ins focus on the task you’re performing at that specific moment: they expose the features you need, when you need them. And because of our special attention to design, you’ll be delighted every time you open a FabFilter plug-in. Don’t take our word for it We always set the highest standard for sound quality, usability and design to make truly great products that raise the bar on what audio software can do. That’s why we’re very happy with the praise we’ve received from users and press alike:
“In the decade since the release of its first plug-in, One, FabFilter has made an indelible mark on the music production landscape.” — Computer Music magazine “While many other software developers are busy trying to model hardware, FabFilter is leaving them in the dust by being visionaries and reaching into the future. FabFilter stuff is just on another level.” — Jeff Sanders “FabFilter has an enviable reputation for making easy-to-use, powerful tools.” — Music Tech magazine FabFilter was founded in 2002 by Frederik Slijkerman and Floris Klinkert, and is based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. See Also Support FabFilter web site
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